• The Hours by Michael Cunningham. Just because it’s, like, perfect. And you can’t really appreciate this novel without knowing Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. So I’ll list them together.
• Memnoch The Devil by Anne Rice. Some people think this novel is a mess. But it is one of my favorites because the lengths this woman goes to explore her concept of theology is just fascinating.
• Contact by Carl Sagan. This novel means so much to me. It’s hard to put into words. But I feel like so much of myself is wrapped up in this book.
• Rendevouz with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. In fact, I’ll just say the whole Rama series. I think they’re some of the best books ever written.
• Tales of the City. Again, why settle for a single book when there’s a whole series worthy of being mentioned? These are real page turners and unlike any of the other novels on this list (I can be overly serious sometimes, so sue me), there are many laugh out loud moments here. If you need an introduction to classic gay culture, these books are a great place to start.

And there’s the top five. But I’ll include a few honorable mentions that, given this task at any other point in time, could have easily made this “top five” as well:

• Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gillman
• Les Guerilleres by Monique Wittig
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• A Princess of Mars by John Carter
• My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

Now the part where I’m supposed to tag five more people:

• Lucy Black
• Brian Centrone
• Lee Houck
• Alana Saltz
• Rose Yndigoyen

And that’s that. Have fun!

Raleigh art collector Geraldine Bryan is proud to present muse, an intimate solo exhibition of new work by artist luke kurtis. Please join us at Community United Church of Christ (814 Dixie Trail in Raleigh) on Saturday, March 9, from 2-4 PM for the exhibition opening and to hear the artist discuss his work in a casual setting. The exhibition will remain on view until 20 April and is viewable by appointment (call 919-787-6422 or 919-787-8494).

muse is a series of never-before-exhibited digital collage prints that evolved out of the artist’s Jordan’s Journey project. Through a detailed process combining both digital and analogue techniques, kurtis probes the areas of spirituality, history, science, and fashion. Where Jordan’s Journey explored the idea of personal and collective memory through the lens of genealogical history, the muse series hones in on a sense of alternate reality. The muse images approach the symbolism of tarot cards or even religious icons yet function beyond that realm. The muses possess a psychedelic fashion sense while layers of scientific and technical imagery bring a sci-fi element to the works. These pieces illustrate the artist’s evolving technique and highlight his vision of a new world where spirituality and science are integrated aspects of the human experience.

luke kurtis (also known as Jordan M. Scoggins) is a Georgia-born interdisciplinary artist focusing on the intersection of photography, writing, and design. He lives and works in New York’s Greenwich Village.

Geraldine Bryan is a long-time art collector and Raleigh resident. She was a docent at the North Carolina Museum of Art for 18 years and is pleased to present the Raleigh debut of kurtis’s work.

writing about the emotional component of creativity–whether expressing your own art or experiencing the art of others–can be a difficult task. the experience of creativity impacts you in a way beyond everyday thought and reason. the very poem i posted here recently was about such an experience. i could not write about Madonna’s MDNA concert as if it were a mere review (besides, my friend Brian already wrote more than sufficient coverage if you’re looking for that kind of perspective). like in my ghazal, religious imagery is often the only way i can describe my most profound experiences of art.

recently i went to see Einstein on the Beach. i first encountered Glass’s famous opera well over a decade ago. i studied the work extensively as part of my interdisciplinary art degree. EOTB was one of the key works for me in exploring the relationship between spoken word and music, an idea that i have continued to develop even beyond my years as a student.

seeing EOTB live was like going to one of the most sacred church services conceivable. it was different from MDNA–a totally different energy (and i wonder how many people across the two audiences would be equally impacted by these two very different forms of music and theater?). but for me they are an interesting contrast, a precarious balance. and both equally spiritual experiences.

where EOTB is immediately viewed as high/art and MDNA is low/pop, i think it’s valuable to compare them. EOTB uses pop culture as a means of abstracted commentary while MDNA uses pop as a subversive way to communicate more complicated ideas. EOTB can leave the viewer feeling a little stupid, “what does that mean? it’s over my head.” Most MDNA attendees have a hard time seeing Madonna as anything more than dance diva. both shows exhibit a certain amount of tedium, whether its waiting for hours for Madonna to grace the stage, or waiting for what may seem like hours for even the tiniest actions to occur in EOTB. Madonna’s show embraces religious imagery and symbolism while Einstein is, well, more scientific. both shows contain violent imagery. both shows contain mesmerizing dance. MDNA idolizes its own creator while Einstein celebrates an historical figure.

but the comparison is… relative, shall we say?

the list of similarities and differences could go on. but that’s not really my point here. this is about my personal, subjective experience. i doubt there are many people out there as inspired by both Glass and Madonna as i am. they are but two of the figures in my pantheon of artists. and if going to a concert is like going to church, these artists are like gods.

shall we pray?

l.k. n.y.c.
27 sep ’12 12:19pm

Note: The above image is my original poster design concept for Einstein on the Beach. The photograph is by Kate Moran and is used with permission from Pomegrante Art’s gallery of promotional images for EOTB.

i floated there, my face quivering with waves of prayer,
the sound washed over us like only the sound of prayer.

the chosen few. the lucky ones. only the faithful
know what it means to be blessed by the hand of god’s prayer.

our chant rose towards heaven in a chorus of light and
the veil of incesnse opened the world between here and prayer.

Vishnu, you are everywhere, your thousand names are blessed
and here we enter in with each breath and sound a prayer.

Isis, bring your magic and bless us sinners for yet
as the universe is vast our love is truth and prayer.

Yahweh, teach us the seventy-two ways, mysteries
we long to know, to sing the vibrations of your prayer.

Holy Mother, reach to me your child and take my hand
for you have seen the light and comfort me with your prayer.

you have walked among great men and women, great artists,
great thinkers: yet here you are with me, your eyes a prayer.

your gaze a gift like a ray of light into my soul,
the soul of a sinner, the light of a sinner’s prayer.

the music is a revelation, a vibration
holy as the word of god, blessed, holy like a prayer.

like a prayer you call my name, the voice of god speaking
through the tongues of men: to light, to love, we rise towards prayer.

l.k. n.y.c.
7 sep ’12 4:08pm

I hope you will come out to say hello and check out my work.

here’s one of the new paintings…

if you like the new design, click the Facebook “like” button and tweet a link too!

Had I not been in mid-asana it might have been a more emotional moment for me. But still my heart sank. The man had incredible genius and changed the way we all live and work today.

My history with Apple is rather sporadic and varied. While Apple machines were not my first computers (that honor goes to the TRS-80 Color Computer 2), I did use them in their pre-Macitosh days before I ever even touched a MS-DOS (much less Windows) machine. I mostly remember playing Lode Runner or Oregon Trail on the Apple ][e, as well as typing exercises at school (but those were a breeze, given my mother was a typing teacher and taught me years before). As the editor (and designer) of the Armuchee Valley Signal I used the Apple //gs and Apple ImageWriter II. Desktop publishing was in its infancy and still involved a lot of manual/literal cut and pasting, but James Grady (my assistant editor) and I did the core work on the //gs. The 3.5" disk drive was novel to me and seemed especially cutting edge in 1990.

Then came my first Macintosh experience. When my father was assistant principal at LaFayette Middle School, all the office computers were Macintosh. I don't remember the specific model he used but it was probably a Macintosh Classic or similar. Often I had to wait in his office after school while he was in a faculty meeting. I would play on the computer--mostly fooling around with the sublime After Dark. It may have been just a screen saver but it appealed to my creative side and I loved experimenting with the different options. I also remember using various models of Macintosh LC (including a LC 520 with Microsoft Musical Instruments) and Macintosh Quadra in the high school library.  The librarian even had a Macintosh Color Classic--the physical design had a refined distinction that attracted me. Those were also the days of the Newton--something I never actually used (or even saw in person). But I was geeky enough to know about it and thought it was a cool idea.

Around that time the school switched over to IBM compatible machines. While Apple machines had a traditional strong hold in the education market, this switch was largely motivated by budgetary needs. And, for business classes, the fact that the business world was using IBM compatible machines meant it was what you needed to learn. But even before that the business computer lab at LaFayette High School wasn’t Apple–it was full of TRS-80 Model III machines! This is the department my mother taught in. Before (and after) my father’s stint in school administration, he taught drafting (and later generalized technology). He taught CADapple on the Apple II in the early days but in time this too shifted to IBM compatible machines using AutoCAD.

Back on the home front the TRS-80 had become ancient and we went the way of IBM compatible machines as well. We had a variety of machines over the years but the few that stand out are the Leading Edge Model D, an IBM XT, and–my first Windows machine–a nondescript Packard Bell. So in my later teenage years Apple was all but absent from my everyday computing life.

My next memory of Apple is the Think Differnet campaign, particularly the John Lennon & Yoko Ono ad. I was living in New York by this time and heard a building size version of the ad was displayed on the Upper West Side. I took the subway uptown, Pentax 35mm camera in tow (that was still before the days of digital), and photographed the ad. Other memories from the time include shopping in Printer Matter (back when it was on Wooster Street) and admiring their collection of colored iMac’s. iMac is the first product I recall coming in a rainbow of colors, a trend soon reflected in consomer products from microwaves to (of course) Apple’s own iPod. Apple was becoming noted more than ever before for its design aesthetic. High design was something no computer company had done before. Technolgoy began its shift from mere productivity tool to chic fashion accessory.

After an early history littered with Apple computers, the first Mac I owned personally was a late 2006 Mac mini, only the second Intel-based Mac mini model. It was a hand-me-down that I was grateful to receive as I dipped my toes back into the world of Apple computing after many years of using IBM compatible machines. It wasn’t powereful enough to be my main machine but it was a great learning tool that still gets use to this day. I’ve been a bit behind the curve on home computers the past few years due to financial limitation’s and my partner’s unemployment, but friends have been generous and two of my main machines are other hand-me-downs: a MacBook Pro and an iMac, both from 2006. They’re too old to run Lion which puts me behind the curve on the software as well as hardware front. But they serve me well. These two Macs feel more “current” than my hand-me-down Windows machine of only slightly newer vintage. And yes, I do use that many computers. If you’ve read this far you shouldn’t be surprised–I’m a completely unabashed tech geek.

And that’s why last night that simple yoga pose turned out to be rather emotional afterall. I may not fall under the Apple “fanboy” category. But I don’t really like those labels anyway. I’m a tech pluralist–which is why my fruitful computing past is filled with a multitude of tech brands, operating system versions, and hardware platforms. But there will always be a few Apple’s growing on my tree.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” –Apple Inc.

Steve, thank you for being crazy enough. Rest in peace.